As the track season builds momentum toward the League and CIF meets at the end of the year, both the boys and girls squads remain undefeated in league competition with several members of our troop ranking high among all San Diego athletes. Our distance squad is fed by our strong cross country teams, which produce both boys and girls league champions every year, with the girls set to defend their CIF championship for the 4th year in a row this fall. Both our cross country team and track teams benefit greatly from an excellent middle school feeder program that shares our track facilities several times a week.
This year both the CHS and CMS squads boast over 70 kids. That number is great for our sport, but it does get crowded on Coronado’s short 6-lane track with limited access to the field due to daily lacrosse practice. On Mondays and Fridays, when the middle school practices, those 6 lanes are packed with runners; and on many Wednesdays, when the middle school has their track meets, most of the high school kids practice off campus at one of Coronado’s grassy parks, usually “hills” at Pomona Park, or repetition work at Sunset, Tidelands, or Spreckels. We’re fortunate to have these great areas as fall-back locations. Our CHS regular league meets are on Thursdays, so going off campus works well as the day before a meet usually involves a lighter workout.
All of the middle school dual meets in the south half of the South Coast League compete at Coronado’s track because of our set-up, track availability, and experience. Over the years we’ve developed methods to give every athlete a time or mark in every event they enter. In a recent meet we had 71 kids run the 80 meter hurdles, 41 run the 400, 73 run the 100, and 60 run the 200. These are all lane races that a maximum of 6 kids can run at a time so it took over 40 heats to get it all done. The 800 had 34 runners and the 1600 had 28. In the field events, 60 kids each had up to 3 attempts in the long jump, 51 had up to 3 tries in the shot put, and 33 participated in the high jump. The middle school program can be a fun experience because the kids get to try out the various field events and different distance races; but we have only 1 high jump pit, 1 long jump runway, and 1 shot-put ring. That’s a lot of wear and tear on our facilities.
With district funding being what it is, more and more of the cost of running our program is falling on the booster club. Track is an expensive sport. We have only three paid coach positions yet we have 10 coaches helping out with the program. Our hurdles are disintegrating and the old aluminum ones are on their last legs, so that we barely have enough good hurdles for 3 lanes. We are in need of new high jump and pole vault standards, a new long jump board and a new high jump cover. Also needed are plyometric boxes, measuring tapes, starting blocks, printing stop watches, and training hurdles. We are appreciative that the Islander Sports Foundation (ISF) just replaced the pole vault cover to the tune of $1200. We have a small supply of older uniforms that we lend out each season, but these are not in the best condition anymore. This year we offered the kids the opportunity to purchase their own uniform and it was helpful that many did, which saved us the cost of buying new uniforms for everyone. Invitational meet fees are another big hit to our budget. This year already we’ve spent over $700 on fees for invitational meets and there are still a couple more we’ll attend (it costs an average of $300 to send a full team to an invite, or between $10-$25 for individuals).
At the beginning of the year I didn’t know how we’d cover all these costs. I spoke with coaches at other schools that had used the fundraiser Snap-Raise with good success and so we decided to try it. The athletes have done well getting the word out and we are currently in the last week of our Snap-Raise campaign. If you are feeling generous or have a love for track and field and want to help, there is still time to donate — please visit our website at islandertrack.com for a link, or go directly to our Snap-Raise campaign. On our IslanderTrack website you can also view lots of photos and results from both our high school and middle school track and cross country programs. Our athletes thank you for your support!
Donations can also be made directly to our program through ISF (put “Track Donation” on memo line), and that option is always available. All donations are tax-deductible. Federal Tax ID #33-0584000
Online: Islander Sports Foundation
By Mail: Islander Sports Foundation, PO Box 181115, Coronado, CA 92178
